Edwards: Higher wages will inflate venues' costs

October 8, 2013|By David Damron, Orlando Sentinel

Taxpayers could pay millions of dollars in added labor costs for a stadium and arts venue proposal because of federal wage rules that should be scrapped, Orange County Commissioner Ted Edwards said Tuesday.

Orange leaders will vote on a $94.5 million package on Oct. 22 that, among other things, includes $12 million in tourist taxes for added Citrus Bowl upgrades, another $25 million to complete the new Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, and $20 million toward a $84 million soccer stadium.

While the county would help pay for those projects, Orlando would own them. And city leaders, who approved the venue deal Monday, have a policy of paying workers on major projects a prevailing wage set by the federal government.

Edwards, an attorney, said the city's salary rules would put a bigger burden on county taxpayers. "It's going to drive up the costs," Edwards said.

But advocates of the federal Davis-Bacon wage guidelines say they are designed to reflect existing local average wages to make sure that government projects don't depress salaries on costly projects.

Larry Kidd, who represented the Central Florida Building and Construction Trades Council, said "for some limited number of workers" higher wages would be paid. But the guidelines also ensure that better quality work is done, which means fewer missed deadlines or costly repairs later on, he said.

Kidd said Edwards ignores that lower wages push workers to rely on social programs that taxpayers pay for.

Edwards said he's not sure if the wage issue would prompt him to vote against the venue deal, adding that his main concern is that taxpayers would pay too much toward the new soccer stadium.

Of the $84 million cost, the team would pay $30 million up front, and $675,000 a year that the city would capitalize to produce another $10 million to use toward construction. Orlando and Orange taxpayers would chip in $40 million. The rest would come from other sources, including $2 million from Seminole County.